LSU football player helps woman, her kids stranded on side of Interstate to change tire

BATON ROUGE — An LSU freshman football player on his way home from practice stopped and helped a woman and her two kids after their car stalled on the interstate. 

Tamarcus Cooley, a safety on the Tigers football team, was driving home on Thursday after football practice when he saw a car that had a tire blowout on the shoulder of the interstate, Cayla Abad told LSU on Friday. 

“I was heading home from picking the kids up,” Abad said. “I was able to make it onto the shoulder, but it still wasn’t the safest spot. Cars were speeding by us, too close for comfort.”

Abad said that Cooley stopped and asked if he could help as she was struggling to loosen the lug nuts on her blown tire.

“He said one of the reasons he stopped was because he would want someone to stop and help if it was (his mother) on the side of the road,” Abad said. “That statement melted my heart. He had so many reasons to keep driving past us — I’m sure he was already exhausted from football practice.” 

Even in the blazing heat and cars wizzing by, Cooley changed the Abad’s tire and refused any money for the job, she added. 

“His parents raised the kind of man we aspire to raise our boys to be,” the woman said. 

Amazing work @tcoo1ey ?? pic.twitter.com/Rqx4yfOtfL

— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) August 15, 2025

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